


Sunrise

by starofinsomnia (quirklessbunny)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: 10 Years of Darkness, Angst, Birthday, Canon-Typical Violence, Crying, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 19:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quirklessbunny/pseuds/starofinsomnia
Summary: After the final fight, Noctis finds himself opening his eyes again, though he doesn't remember much of what happened, he still has his loves and a whole new world. It's overwhelming. He's glad to be back.





	Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> fuck u canon 
> 
> let noctis live and be happy also 
> 
> Happy Birthday Noct!

Noise. Yelling? Sobbing? No, he's not sure, just a cacophony of echoing noise bouncing off the walls nearby. He shifts, whimpering softly when it just causes pain to spike through his back. He peels his eyes open finally, staring up at the destroyed ceiling of the Citadel. What happened here? His father is going to be pissed if he somehow caused the destruction of the damn castle. He sighs softly and closes his eyes again, hoping that Ignis or Gladio gets here soon and explains _something_, because he has no idea why his back and knee hurt this bad, or what happened to him to make his head pound. All he knows is he feels old and he wants to lay in a proper bed. 

Minutes pass and nothing seems to happen. Noctis wonders where Ignis is, there's no way he wouldn't come to check on Noctis unless something was stopping him. He slowly sits up, a soft cry falling from his lips. Agony laces through his body. When he looks down at himself, there's blood on his clothes and his shirt is ripped, but there seems to a relatively small wound on his chest. A little vibrant feather falls to the ground beside him, and seemingly stray sparks of light glitter around him. 

A phoenix down, his brain supplies. Why did someone need to use a phoenix down on him? Last he remembers, they were nearly to the crystal, they had just gotten Prompto back- Prompto. Where's Prompto now? His best friend would never leave his side if he had just gotten down'd, the man acts like he really died regardless of his reassurances, and usually takes a few days to calm down. So where is he in the minutes after a successful revive? 

Noctis slowly heaves himself to his feet, choking on a cough. His body absolutely does not want him to walk, when did his knees get so fucked? But here he is, going on anyway. He never was good at listening to his body and treating it properly, at least, according to Ignis. He heads towards the source of the noises, even though it causes his head to ache worse. He pauses by the door, pressing his forehead against the splintering wood. The pressure does nothing to ease it, and he wonders if Ignis will have any advil on him. Probably. If not, Gladio definitely has some in his dumb camping first aid kit. 

He finally forces himself out of the door, listening to the noise a little more carefully. Fighting, it definitely sounds like fighting. The crash of blades and grunting gives it away. He uses the wall to hold himself up, hand scraping over the cold stone. He rounds the corner and finds the fight almost directly in front of him. The men _ look _ like Ignis and Gladio. But older, as if the years haven't been kind to them. Ignis is moving a lot better than he was last time Noctis remembers seeing him. He's glad, though he can tell Ignis never recovered his sight, with the way he's moving. More cautious than usual, mostly using magic. 

How much time has passed? He doesn't remember much of anything, but clearly time has gone by. He feels it in his bones, he sees it in the other two, sees it in the state of the Citadel. He reaches up, fingers brushing over his jaw. Facial hair, he wasn't able to grow that before. When the fight ends, he stumbles from the shadows, tears welling into his eyes. The other two jolt towards the sound, but Gladio visibly relaxes right away. 

“Your majesty,” Gladio says, deep voice rumbling and full of thick emotion. Noctis finds that he had missed it. He lets the tears fall off his cheeks and jolts forward, throwing himself into the arms of his shield, his love. He has no idea how long it's been since he's been able to touch someone like this, but he feels in his skin that it's been years. He can't believe how painful it is to be touch starved and not remember why he feels that way. He leans up a little bit, clumsily, hitting their mouths together in a slight rush. 

“Where's Prompto?” he asks when their separate, voice trembling. He leans heavily against him, unable to hold himself up on his own now. His legs aren't prepared to hold his weight. “Why can't I...remember anything?” 

“Prompto is headed to Hammerhead, your majesty. He went ahead to clear as much of a path as he could, though it wasn't without us forcing him out. He wanted to stay with you, like always. I promise to you, though, to our knowledge he's fine and well. Let's go, now. I want to make sure we get to a safe zone,” Ignis says. He walks forward, hand coming out and feeling along Gladio's body until his fingers bury in Noctis' grimy hair. “Carry him, would you Gladio?” he asks. “The pheonix down couldn't fix everything, and you were down long enough that you could have gaps in your memory. It's a documented phenomena. Sometimes it comes back, sometimes it doesn't. Like amnesia.” 

Noctis nods slightly. “The last thing I remember is almost getting to the Crystal. But I also remember very little about what happened before then too.” He sighs softly. He's relieved when Gladio picks him up, he wasn't sure how much longer he could have stayed upright. It's like the last of his strength is finally being sapped now that he's safe with his lovers. 

Noctis slides in and out of consciousness on the ride back to Hammerhead, his face pressed into Ignis' thigh as he snores. He's never had any trouble sleeping before, and now is not any different. The exhaustion and pain weighing heavily on his body help him along. When the car stops, he feels like he's being blinded by the sun, but his mind tells him that can't be right. 10 years of darkness, he thinks after a few moments. But wasn't something supposed to fix that? He feels like it was important to him, like it was _ job _ or something. A prophecy he doesn't remember the words to. 

He slowly climbs from the car, looking around. Just bright floodlights, he realizes. To keep the demons off. This feels familiar, walking up to Hammerhead in this setting. He looks up, and when he sees Prompto's face his legs give out. Gods above, he missed him. He looks ridiculous with that stupid facial hair, but its so absolutely Prompto that it makes him weak. 

“Noct!” Prompto shouts, voice confused and scared. He rushes forward, kneeling in front of Noctis and looking him over. “Good?” he asks softly, hands moving to his cheeks. “Gods Noct, that wasn't fair. You don't get to scare me twice like that.” He hugs him tightly, sliding his hands over his back. He clutches him closer, leans their foreheads together. “Fuck, I thought that phoenix down wasn't gonna be enough, and I was so scared but I'm so glad you're here now. I missed you.” 

Noctis lets out a soft sob and hugs him back. He clutches Prompto's clothes, pulling on them pretty hard in an effort to get closer to him. “I missed you,” he mumbles. He moves his hands up and grips Prompto's cheeks, yanking him into a deep kiss. “Don't leave me,” he whispers, voice desperate, choked, broken. He can't live with the thought that he might be alone again. 

“I won't. I would never leave you,” Prompto responds. He slowly stands up, pulling Noctis close to lean on him. “Let's go inside, I have a surprise all set up for you.” He kisses his cheek, smiling at him. The smile is tired, Prompto is exhausted. Exhausted from the fighting, exhausted from the darkness. But he'd always smile for his best friend and the love of his life. “And then we can all sleep for a little bit. Because we deserve it and earned it. Plus I doubt 10 years of sleeping would put a dent in your sleep pattern.” Prompto gives him a teasing smile, and Noctis can't help but snort. 

“Shut up. Not all of us have the energy of a golden retriever,” he responds, voice playful. Noctis sighs softly, leaning harder into him when Prompto reaches out to open the door to the restaurant. Inside is dark and quiet for a few moments, before the lights flick on and the entire room is filled with shouts of 'surprise!' Noctis starts for a moment, looking around in confusion. Everyone is so much older than he remembers, but also what is the surprise for? He looks around until his eyes meet the crude banner hung above the counter. 

“Birthday? It's my birthday?” he asks. 

Prompto smiles and shrugs. “I mean, it was a few days ago, but I figured it couldn't hurt to celebrate.” He rubs his fingers against Noctis' hip. “And we have a lot to celebrate. I gotta ask, though, Noct. Will you stay up long enough to watch the sun rise with us?” he asks, eyes soft. 

Noctis feels a new round of tears well into his eyes. “Yes,” he chokes out, holding onto his hand tightly. “Yeah, I'd really like that.” He looks around. “Thank you all. I hope we can move into a new era of prosperity together,” he announces, smiling even as tears fall down his cheeks. 

He can't remember much, but he's pretty sure this is a damn good birthday.


End file.
